Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Bonding.

Despite all of the insanity, all of the near death, and missed deaths, the big day was almost upon Harry and Kara. Their wedding would be happening later that afternoon. As of now, the couple rested in bed in each other's arms. Just content in sleeping in for a few more minutes, and then cuddling with each other until they had to get ready and out of bed. The rays of sunshine came in through their bedroom window. Claire likely was already still in bed, or do something quiet in her room. Kara's blue eyes flickered open, and she shifted over. Kara's scantily dressed body sprawled over Harry's.

The blonde Kryptonian wore a thin see-through white nightdress that her nipples poked out from. Harry appreciated the gesture, especially given that was the first thing he woke up to. Kara smiled at Harry. The two lovers, and soon to be official spouses continued to cuddle in bed. The two enjoyed the moment of silence, before Harry broke it.

"Morning, beautiful," Harry told Kara. He leaned over on the bed, and his lips met Kara in a nice kiss. Kara rolled over, so she was on top of Harry. The blonde Kryptonian continued the kiss, deepening in it. Kara grinded across Harry's covered pelvis, getting him excited, and leaned down to whisper in his ear once she broke the kiss.

"You're looking rather delicious yourself this morning."

"You know, keep this up, and we…ah that feels so good. We won't make it to our own wedding, on the account of being preoccupied."

Kara cupped Harry's crotch from underneath the sheets, and smiled. "Well we can't have that, now can we?"

She teased Harry a little bit more, and straddled him. The kisses continued, and Harry ran his hands over Kara's body. Kara broke it off, and checked the time.

"It's about breakfast time already," Kara remarked, eyes focused on the clock. Kara turned away from Harry. "I guess after what happened, the two of us would be out like a light."

Harry nodded, and wrapped his arm around Kara. To be honest, he put every single other event that happened out of his mind. Everything regarding his mother, the disappearance of Lex, the disappearance of the Fortress, and everything else, Harry had just decided to forget about for the time being. There would be plenty of time to worry about that once they got back from the honeymoon. For once, Harry was going to let what happened be someone else's problem, at least for a week until they got back.

Kara floated over to the wardrobe and changed into a set of clothes. She wore a white t-shirt that stretched across her chest, and showcased her ample bust. The material stopped right before her stomach, and showed off her toned midriff. The blue jean skirt that she chose hugged around her hips, and did an excellent job in showcasing her legs. The girl chose not to wear shoes, and thus her mouth-watering feet were on display, and Harry appreciated that.

The blonde Kryptonian looked over at Harry, and enjoyed what she saw as well. He wore a black tank top, and black shorts. His cute messy hair was on full display, and Kara licked her lips thinking about what they were going to do after the wedding. She planned to go all night long with Harry. The two of them floated down the stairs for breakfast, where Claire just had got up out of her room. The redhead girl yawned, and looked at her parents, with a smile on her face.

"Morning Claire," Harry said brightly to his daughter.

"Morning, Dad, Mom," Claire said, and she looked at them, with a grin. "So today's the big day, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Kara answered. "You were right, it took long enough."

Claire just smiled. It would be a magical day. "I just hope nothing bad happens."

Kara just frowned. If anyone ruined her wedding, once she got ahold of them, they would die a most painful death. That much was for certain. Thoughts of how she could punishing anyone sabotaging the wedding had been filed away for the future.

As of now, Kara sat down and enjoyed some pancakes, eggs, and toast for breakfast, wonderfully prepared by Harry. This was one instance where Kara would forgive Harry's upbringing, given the fact that he learned how to cook. Her cooking skills tended to range from mediocre to disastrous depending on what she was preparing. Granted, it was not so bad that she could burn cereal, but still she had her share of kitchen failures.

Regardless, Kara dug into her meal, and enjoyed a hearty breakfast. Harry checked the newspaper. Claire saw her father flipping through it, and had to comment on how tedious it was.

"You know Dad, the Internet does exist, and most people do get their news from there," Claire teased. She wrinkled her nose, at the thought of how slow looking up things in the newspaper went.

"I know Claire, but considering I own a huge part of this newspaper now, I feel the need to support it when I can," Harry replied, and Kara offered a smile at that. Harry delved into the newspaper, and read up on the latest weather forecast. "That's some good news, the weather is going to be sunny and warm today."

"A perfect day for our perfect day," Kara responded. A bright smile spread across her beautiful face.

Harry smiled back at her. "Any day with you is perfect, my prodigal princess from the stars."

Kara leaned over the table, and wrapped her arms around Harry. She kissed him, long and deep. Their lips molded together, and tingled with power. The tongues of the couple clashed for dominance.

At her seat, Claire pulled a face. She loved her parents, and loved that they loved each other. That being said, did they really have to do that at the dinner table while she was eating? The two finished, and Claire decided to gulp down her orange juice. She belched, sending little sparks of fire.

"Claire," Kara said reproachfully, casting a stern look at her adopted daughter.

"Excuse me," Claire said, with a shifty little smirk on her face.

The Potter family ate breakfast together, and enjoyed the morning they had. The time seemed to crawl by. Kara and Harry both thought that the wedding could not come fast enough, but the after-party would also be great. The two had smirks on their face when they thought about what was to come.

Claire missed the significance of most of it, she was just glad that the two most important people in her life were getting married.

Above the Earth's atmosphere, practically in Space, Lana hovered, and pondered. Space was actually an interesting place to collect one's thoughts, without the distractions. At this point, Lana tried to focus her super hearing. Every single sound was faint at first, but there were more sounds that could be heard from high above her perch point, the more she focused and adjusted herself. Lana could see Clark standing outside of the Farm House. He was pacing back and forth, likely wondering where she was.

The day was going so far, so good. Lana could not see a cloud in the sky, or a hitch in the arrangement. She just hoped that Kara and Harry's day would be perfect, without any complications. Lana found herself amused at thinking that if someone ruined Kara's wedding, the blonde would torture them slowly and painfully before putting them out of their misery. Lana thought she got a bit more sadistic glee out of that thought then she likely should, but that was beside the point.

Her mind was mostly back together at the Fortress, although Lana did get some weird strangled thoughts in a language that she suspected was Kryptonian. If she focused long enough, Lana could pick out bits of it. One of the words translated into "mother", and then there was "back up", "failsafe." And the final word translated into "destroyer." Lana hoped that in time, she could piece together more, and had spent a couple hours every night before bed thinking about it all.

Lana decided that she made Clark wait long enough. Lana decided to burst down from space, flying. Kara had given her advice on how not burn up on reentry. Although, the only thing that would burn up would be her clothes. Which Lana remembered had not been invulnerable. Then again, they really did not make clothes like they used to, regardless of the situation.

Clark paced around. It was getting close, and Lana was gone. Clark was worried that something happened, but suddenly that fear was put to rest. Lana shot out from the sky like a cork, and wrapped her arms around the waist of Clark, before wrestling him to the ground. Clark was caught completely off guard.

"Lana, I was wondering where you were," Clark said, and Lana let him get up to his feet. There was no need to get their clothes dirty after all.

"Up in space, the view's interesting," Lana remarked, and a grin crossed her face.

Clark put up a hand and his cell phone rang. He answered it.

"Hey, Clark, just a reminder, your cousin's wedding is today," Chloe said from the other end. "And you know, Kara, she will throw you into the Phantom Zone if you miss it."

"We're on our way there," Clark answered in an abrupt voice. He had no idea how true that was. Lana scooped up Clark into her arms, and took flight.

There were times like this where Clark really wished he could fly. Perhaps it would come someday to him, randomly, all of his other powers did. He was being held back by something. Clark had really no time to think about that when Lana landed him behind Lois and Chloe. Lois turned around with a start, but relaxed when she saw it was only Clark and Lana..

"When did you get here, Smallville?" Lois asked.

"Just about ten seconds ago," Clark replied, and Lois looked at him strangely.

"Yeah, I guess you were a bit closer than I thought," Chloe said, in a knowing voice. "That was me jumping the gun again."

"You tend to do that a lot," Clark answered, and Chloe just lightly punched him on the shoulder, which did hurt a lot more thanks to her strength.

"Well, I'm just glad I got an invite," Lois said, looking up. "I almost expected some kind of catch, and sure enough, I was almost given a body-cavity search on my way here. It's almost like people don't trust anyone anymore."

"Given all of the weirdness that has happened, you can't be too careful," Clark said, eyebrows raised.

Lana knew that better than anyone. She walked with Clark into the wedding. They saw Claire standing there, with Megan from the Shining Light Foundation. Lana smiled at Claire, who waved. They had to go to their seats, Lois walked up to talk to Claire.

"It's been a while since I've talked to you, Claire," Lois said in a bright voice. "And I was wondering when were we going to have that rematch in video games. You know, I let you win, right?"

Claire snorted. "Yeah right, that's what all adults say, to hide the fact that they lost badly"

"Now, Claire, that is unfair," Clark said. He then paused, and added. "I mean, why would you even classify Lois as an adult?"

"Hey!" Lois yelled, in mock outrage.

"Well, there are times where you tend to act a little bit immature, Lois," Chloe said, unable to resist chiming in her two cents.

Lois turned around, and pouted at this.

"Case in point," Chloe replied with a grin.

"What is this, pick up Lois day?" Lois asked.

"Well, I haven't checked the calendar yet," Clark answered.

"It could be," Lana chimed in.

Lois could hardly believe that Lana and Clark were double teaming her in such a matter. And not in the good way either. She shook her head, and looked off.

Chloe just guided Lois away. Today was a big day for Harry and Kara. Chloe had thought about what Kara had said on that day. She would be lying if she was not interested in what the possibilities were with that. As for right now, Chloe resolved to master her newly found powers the best that she could. Then she would work from there, and whatever happened, happened. Chloe decided to keep it a secret from Lana and Clark, at least for now. She decided to let them in on the secret much later in the most amusing way.

Several guests at the wedding talked, and for good reason. Bruce Wayne had showed up at this moment, flanked by his butler, and a young boy at the age of twelve. His butler was named Alfred, and he showed up as well.

The boy was named Dick Grayson. A few months ago, Dick's life had been turned upside down when his parents had fell from the Circus high wire before his very eyes. Dick had been taken in by Bruce, while the police had searched for his parent's killer. So far, there had been no solid leads. Dick wanted to go out, and look for the criminal himself.

Bruce's night life had been an enigma, and one Dick was puzzled by. He was seldom around, and when Dick asked Alfred where he went, Alfred had remarked that he was at a business meeting. The young boy folded his arms as he thought about that. That excuse seemed to be a bit too much to swallow.

"I don't even know why you dragged me here," Dick said, and he looked around to punctuate his point. "I don't even know half of these people. Actually most of them to be honest, so what's the point?"

"Master Bruce figured it would do you some good to get out into the fresh air," Alfred responded in his usual dry and no nonsense manner.

Dick sighed, and shook his head. "Well you seem to have more of an idea what Bruce thinks than what he tells me."

Alfred just offered a sympathetic smile to Dick. Keeping Master Bruce's secrets was always the most frustrating part of his job. He did tell Bruce that Dick would find out eventually, if the living arrangement became more permanent. With the lack of progress on the killer, Alfred thought that was an obvious thing.

Clark noticed Bruce, and walked up to greet him. "I didn't expect you to be here. You haven't been attacked by any muggers lately, have you?"

"No more so than usual," Bruce answered in a crisp tone, like he was not bothered by the fact.

"How do you know Harry and Kara?" Chloe wondered.

"We've done business," Bruce said in a swift voice. He led his young charge over away, before Chloe could ask any more questions.

Megan stood in the background, watching, and smiling. She had worked with Harry and Kara over the past few months, and had watched them grow closer. Kara really had a noble heart, and Megan could have given an earful to the other survivor of her planet for thinking that Kara was trouble because of who her father was. Kara could not be further from Zor-El, if she tried.

Of course, that had been smoothed over. Megan smiled at the thought, and watched everyone move over, as the wedding drew closer. There were most certainly two things Martians enjoyed, no matter what color they were. That was Oreos and Earth Television. They tended to be addicted to both.

She could really stop at both at any time.

Megan ate the Oreo she had, and went for another one, and grumbled because her stash was low. She had an entire package when she left too.

Despite all that he had been through, Harry was a bit nervous as he waited for his bride to come down the aisle on this day. He almost expected something bad to happen, true to form. That was just the story of his life. Any moment, someone would be showing up, perhaps some long dead enemy or a new one. Harry tapped his foot, and waited, his arms folded.

So far so good, as Harry saw Kara walked down the aisle. Harry could not take his eyes of her. She looked positively stunning. The garb she had on both was modest, and respectful, but at the same time showcased her beauty. Kara's bright face had a smile on it. Harry could sense her impatience, and need to just sprint down the aisle to get this over with, so they would be married. Unfortunately, due to the public venue, Kara would have to wait, and could not showcase her powers. The girl moved down the aisle, and Harry gazed upon her radiant beauty.

Kara stood in front of Harry, as the priest prepared to read the specially created wedding vows that had been agreed to prior to the wedding from both Harry and Kara.

"We are gathered here today to mark the joining of these two souls, who have found each other, despite the hardships that are present in life. Today, this young man, Harry Potter, will be joining this young lady, Kara Kent, in holy matrimony, bound together for as long as they shall live and beyond."

Kara and Harry could barely hide their smirks. The two of them knew that as long as they shall live and beyond, would be for a long time. A pair of dazzling green eyes locked onto a pair of bright blue eyes. The two of them smiled at each other, and they both placed the wedding rings on each other's hands. They were only barely listening to what the priest had said. Mentally, they had counted down to what was going to happen. The moment the two would be joined together officially, for the rest of the world.

It would only strengthen the bonds that both of them felt in their heart. Harry and Kara smiled at each other.

"Do you, Harry Potter, agree to these vows with your wife? Do you agree that you will protect each other, cherish each other, to treat each other like equals, and tie the best elements of your lives together through your union?"

Harry mentally vowed these things there. His hand met with Kara's, and he could feel the bond between the two of them get stronger with the next couple words he spoke. "I do."

There was a smile on Kara's face, and impatience washed over the girl. She did not have to wait for that long, and the priest decided to speak on the next part of the vows.

"Do you, Kara Kent, agree to these vows with your husband? Do you agree that you will protect each other, cherish each other, to treat each other like equals, and tie the best elements of your lives together through union?"

"Damn right I do," Kara replied with a grin, and that caused a few laughs from some who had heard her.

"If anyone has just cause that declares these two should not be bound together, speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest stated.

'Under penalty of heat vision,' Kara thought to herself, and Harry picked up the thought. He knew Kara would go through with it. If anyone objected, friend or foe, the girl would fry them with the heat vision, and then roast marshmallows off of their remains.

No one had responded. Kara felt rather pleased with this. She waited for the priest to make things official.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said, slowly turning to address the new couple. "You may now….kiss the bride."

The priest's voice trailed out for Harry and Kara had already begun to kiss before that sentence concluded. It was a rather passionate kiss, with the two of them wrapping their arms around each other, and Kara had her legs tightly around Harry, nearly pushing him back, with their tongues dancing together. They only scarcely remembered that there were people watching them. The entire world had stopped, as they felt a warm glow surround them to strengthen their bond after officially being married. Everyone else felt the glow, even if they did not understand the significance about everything.

Kara broke off. She was now officially in all ways Kara Potter. It took every bit of self-control not to fly off with Harry, and to consummate their union. She figured it would be prudent to stick around, and enjoy the wedding reception for just a little bit.

All and all, the entire wedding had gone on without a hitch, and the reception was shaping up to be something that was going to go on without a hitch as well. That fact was something that placed a smile on the faces of both the bride and the groom. Both Harry and Kara sat outside, as everyone chattered around them. They were happy that everything was official, and no force on in the universe could break the bonds they shared.

"Is this wedding everything you ever dreamed of?" Harry asked her.

A grin crossed over Kara's face, and she wrapped her arms tightly around her husband. "You're everything that I've ever dreamed on. Anything that happens with this wedding is just a bonus. But you did a great job."

Harry surveyed the situation, and gave his two cents on the matter. "Really, you think so? I thought things could have been a little bit better…."

Kara picked up a piece of cake, and slammed it into Harry's mouth to shut him up before he was too critical of himself. Harry looked at his wife, and thought that turnabout was in fact fair play. With another motion, Harry picked up the piece of cake, and shoved it into Kara's face. Kara laughed, and scrapped the frosting off of her fingers. She slowly licked the frosting off, teasing Harry. Her tongue slowly tailed down her fingers. Harry felt himself tingle with the excitement of what he was seeing.

Clark stood in the background watching. He had walked off to get Lana some punch. This gave Lana a chance to talk to Lois and Chloe. Clark stepped over, and saw a very familiar face standing there.

"Mom? I didn't know that you were here."

Martha Kent looked at her son with a smile. "Harry and Kara both invited me. This is the first time that I met them in person, even if we have both talked on the phone and exchanged letters a few times. Kara talks about you all of the time. I must say, I was shocked to see that you had a cousin…."

"You and me both, Mom," Clark replied, pleased to see his mother. With her role as Senator, she was not around that much anymore.

"And a bit suspicious, I hate to say," Martha whispered to him. "Given some of the other survivors of Krypton, and what happened the last time a girl named Kara from Krypton had come to visit you. But this is different."

"Thankfully this is completely different," Clark replied, and he was glad. It took him a while to really get used to the idea that he had blood family, and there were times where he kept a close watch on Kara and Harry as well to a lesser extent.

"So, how are you and Lana doing?" Martha asked.

"Despite it all, we're hanging in there," Clark said, figuring that was the best way to describe what was going on.

Martha just nodded. Clark and Lana had their ups and downs. Perhaps it would all work out after all for them in the end, perhaps not. That was up to Clark and Lana to decide, and Martha just sat back. Martha moved over to offer her regards to the happy couple.

"Congratulations you two," Martha said with a bright smile towards Harry and Kara.

"Thanks, Mrs. Kent," Kara responded, giving the woman that raised her cousin a smile.

"Dear, I told you to call me Martha, I mean you're practically family," Martha said.

Kara smiled, and added to Martha in a whisper. "Right, Martha, and again, thank you for taking care of my cousin for all of those years. I know Clark must have been a handful. If the House of El is known for one thing, it is stubbornness."

Martha laughed, before she spoke.

"Jonathan and I did our best," Martha responded. "I'm just proud that Clark turned out to be the way he did."

Kara looked at how Clark turned out. He was not perfect by any means, but at the same time, he turned out alright.

"I am too," Kara said for a smile.

"And thanks again for helping us get everything in order with the adoption," Harry told Martha.

"It wasn't a problem," Martha said to Harry, waving off his thanks. She understood where Harry was coming from, and was happy to help. "It does take a lot of heart to take in a child that isn't yours into your home."

"I think you would know better than anyone else," Harry replied. At this statement, Martha nodded, and smiled.

"Yes, most people wouldn't have done what Jonathan and I did," Martha said, and that was a sad statement.

"I would have," Harry said, and Kara smiled at what Harry said.

"I know," Martha replied, seeing that easily. "You two enjoy yourselves; I'm going to go catch up a bit more with my son. I have a feeling I've missed a lot."

Kara and Harry exchanged a covert expression. If that was not the understatement of understatements, they did not know what was. The music started up, and Harry looked at his beautiful wife.

"So, my I have this dance, my lady?" Harry asked Kara.

"I'll be delighted," Kara replied, and the two stepped towards each other.

Harry placed his hands on her hips, and locked arms. The two of them enjoyed their first dance together as a married couple. While the two of them tended to be more graceful flying through the air, then they were on the dance floor, they thought that had done alright. They were together, and the sun shined brightly on them. A gentle spring breeze blew outside, and they danced outdoors, oblivious to the rest of the world around them. It was rather nice, to be together.

Chloe watched the couple, a smile on her face. Lois had watched them as well. The brunette nudged her cousin.

"They do look good together," Lois admitted grudgingly.

"Yes they do," Chloe agreed. She found herself looking at the two of them, just studying the way they moved. Tonight was their night, and she turned her attention away from them.

At the table, Claire had gone for a piece of cake, but Dick had swiped it out from underneath her nose. A scowl of discontent spread across the face of the young pryokinetic. Thankfully she learned control, and did not flash fry the boy who took her cake.

"Hey, that was my piece of cake, you know!" Claire yelled hotly.

"There's plenty more, just cut yourself off another slice," Dick said, holding his hands up in a defensive motion.

Claire shook her head, and bit her lip. She could have cut herself off of another slice, but that was not the point. It was the sheer principal of the manner. She watched Dick eat that slice of cake, her slice of cake, and the scowl deepened on the young girl's face. Dick seemed to also make a production out of eating her cake. He put the plate over.

"That was some good cake," Dick commented.

Claire turned over, and backed off. She seethed, and glared at Dick.

"Make a new friend, Claire?" Lois asked.

"Him, no he's no friend, he's annoying," Claire said. She then added. "He's a twerp."

"Ah, I think you might like him," Lois teased her. "You're getting close to that age where you're getting feelings for boys."

"I don't like Dick!" Claire said hotly.

Chloe and Lois looked at each other. There was a moment of silence, before Lois was the one that spoke.

"Are you going to touch that one?" Lois asked swiftly.

"No," Chloe said shortly.

"Good, because I'm not either," Lois responded, and she slowly backed away at that point.

Claire wondered what they were talking about. Sometimes, adults said things she could not even begin to understand. At least she would be getting this piece of cake, even if it was not as good as the piece of cake that had been swiped for her. Claire silently plotted to pay that boy back for stealing her cake. On this day, a vendetta was established.

Harry and Kara spent some time dancing, about an hour or so more. They had some light conversation about the various guests. The fireworks that had gone off for their wedding served as a handy distraction. The two of them had snuck off, invisible, and into the sky. They would stay at the hotel suite tonight, and then fly off to Greece for their honeymoon tomorrow. It would be their first outing as a married couple, and a rare chance to let their hair down.

The wedding and subsequent reception had many guests that had been invited. There were all sorts of people there, some of them mundane, and some of the colorful. One person was not invited to the wedding. That particular individual sat perched in the air, invisible for all to see. Even X-Ray vision could not pick her out.

The reason why she had not been invited to the wedding was that the happy couple had not known that she existed. The blonde Kryptonian floated in the air, placed a hand to her chin, and pondered what to do next. The fact of the matter was that there were so many things that she had to take care of before revealing herself to the rest of the world, and more importantly to her two fellow Heralds of Death.

She still searched for the Fortress, even though it had been lost, buried, and seemingly in another dimension. There could be an infinite number of pocket dimensions where it could have been sent to. There were not only pocket dimensions, but pocket dimensions within pocket dimensions. This fact led the girl to an exercise of supreme frustration. The fact of the matter was that the search could take months and months, even for her. Even the small hint she picked up had been just a misdirection.

Being locked in solitary confinement and experimented on had given her plenty time to think. There was a certain kind of bitter feeling that she felt towards all of humanity, based off of the actions of Lionel Luthor. There where she wondered if her father was right. The young woman wondered if he was correct in his assumption that these people were barbarians that deserved to be taken over, for their own good.

She wondered, with all the hatred, all of the war, all of the just callous disregard for anything different from themselves that some humans exhibited. Then again, Kryptonians were the same way, being torn apart over generations. Kara Zor-El of Earth 2 vowed not to allow that to happen on this planet. Then there was her cousin's counterpart on this world, and the role he had to play.

Kara had observed Kal-El or Clark Kent as he was called here. It was only for the past couple of days, and there would need to be more observation as time went on. However, at this moment, she found herself quite underwhelmed by him. There was a great enemy coming, and if Clark did not learn how to step up and learn how to kill, the destroyer would destroy him.

A part of her wondered if she could track down this monster, and slay his mortal shell before his full potential was realized. He was one of the undesirables, but there was an asterisk by his name. It was a trial that Clark would have to overwhelm and win, or the consequences would be dire.

Kara saw her counterpart in this world, and her husband fly off. There was something strikingly familiar about this Kara's bonded that she could not shake the feeling. She shook her head. If the young woman wanted to, she could touch them. Little did they know they were right next to the Third Herald of Death, but did not know it, because she was invisible, and cloaked herself from any sense they had.

The girl checked the papers that she had, the cover where she would run. The Galatea Foundation was already set up for her, and her alias of Karen Starr. Apparently, she had been figured in.

The girl prepared to figure out her next move. With all of the grace and precision of someone of her abilities, Kara Zor-El of Earth 2 vanished with a pop. She remembered all she observed, seeing people that had died in her world, like Lana and Chloe. Lana had been killed by Lionel Luthor as a way to control Clark. Chloe disappeared as well, and was presumed dead as well. She vowed to keep a close watch over them, and make sure it did not happen again.

Kal-El would mandate further observation, and perhaps assistance. In one universe, he was too extreme and immoral prior to his murder, and in this universe, he was too much like a glorified boy scout. Kara nearly rolled her eyes at this fact. That would be something to deal with at a later date. As of now, the blonde Kryptonian needed to collect more information about this world, and what she was up against.

Kara allowed herself one more thought at the happy married couple. She longed for the day where someone like that could take her in his arms and tell her that he loved her. Emotions she suppressed threatened to come back.

She shook her head. Those thoughts were selfish and stupid to have, and just led to nothing, but hurt and false hope.

Kara had all of the attributes of a healthy female Kryptonian in her physical prime. Her confidence had been rattled, unfortunately, by what had transpired at the hands of Lionel Luthor and her imprisonment.

Winds blew throughout the cold and desolate Artic. No one had noticed that something was off as of yet, and even if someone did notice, the mysteries of what transpired would stay with those who had been down there. The Fortress was once there, yet above ground there was nothing, but a big blank stretch of nothing. There was a miniature hole in the ground. From within this hole, a light shined, offering as a potential beacon for something. What was that beacon? Was in a sign for hope, or a sign for trouble?

Deep beneath the group, several microscopic crystal fragments glittered. They could not be seen by the naked eye, and could be scarcely seen by the enhanced Kryptonian vision. The crystal fragments glittered; it was all that remained of the Fortress. A small light had kicked out in the Fortress, once again only scarcely visible to the eye.

A small amount of residual power had been activated within the area where the Fortress had once stood. Like any great structure there would be backups, and fail safes in case the worst possible event occurred. One of those backups had kicked into place at that moment, and it was one that was not created by Jor-El. The backup was unknown by Jor-El, and was not even part of his plans. Yet, it was there, only to be activated in the case where Jor-El's programming had been destroyed, or grossly compromised.

Even Lily Potter did not discover this aspect of the Fortress, it was buried so deep within it. It was subtle in its design, and very calculating with how it was developed. Jor-El was not the only person who had taken steps to make sure Kal-El had guidance as he reached his destiny.

The essence of the mother program had flicked back to life. The consciousness of Lara had awoken from a long slumber. She was very weak, and unable to do much. All she could do was begin to siphon what residual energy was left within this area, where the Fortress was, and the caves that were connected. Then she could send a message to her son, so she could better assist him.

This process would take several weeks, maybe even a month or more. Lara was secure in the knowledge that her niece should be able to help out Kal-El in the meantime, if he needed any guidance. Both of them, as she had sensed, Kara's counterpart from an alternate world had arrived. Lara could not articulate a message to her at the time when this version of Kara visited the area around where the Fortress once was. Regardless, Lara trusted Kara, both of them, one hundred percent with the life of Kal-El. Jor-El's coldness towards her would be something that Lara would be having words with that man about, should his consciousness return to the Fortress.

Lara did love Jor-El, and knew him to be a kind and noble man. His logic had gotten in the way of reason, and he had allowed his son to know some kind of heartless monster, this AI that he created. The AI was efficient, and methodical, but there were certain parts to someone's destiny that needed emotion to be properly cultivated. Jor-El had many faults, and he programmed every single one of them into that AI of his. As a result, her son no doubt thought his father was a cold, and uncaring man, when the truth could have not been further.

Lara would need to have a discussion with Kal-El about other matters, including the matter of his mates.

Depending on what values her son was raised with, she might be fighting an uphill battle to get him to realize this part of his destiny. Lara sensed something, threads connected to Clark. One of them was blackened, indicating that Clark had once lost someone extremely close to him, who he had connected with on some level. Whoever she was, she had died, but Lara could not find out much more.

Lily Potter had drained most of the power when she took the Fortress wherever upon being banished. However, Lara began to tap into every reserve she could. There was no force in the universe that was stronger than a mother's determination to assist her son.